Ketchikan lost jobs in 2025 as wages rose, Southeast report shows

Ketchikan lost 23 jobs in 2025 even as wages there rose 5%, according to an annual Southeast Conference report released Sept. 29. Average employment fell 0.3%, from 7,345 to 7,322. Wages climbed from $456.3 million to $479.1 million.

Southeast Alaska added 590 jobs regionwide in 2025, up 1.3%, to a record 46,312. Regional wages rose 7%, or $202 million, to a record $3.1 billion. The prior report, covering 2024, found nearly 700 jobs added regionwide and only three communities losing workers. This year four lost jobs: Ketchikan, Hoonah, Yakutat and Hyder.

The report, "Southeast Alaska by the Numbers 2026," was prepared by Rain Coast Data using Alaska Department of Labor figures. It gives no industry breakdown for Ketchikan.

Ketchikan's population edged up 0.2% to 13,377. Its gross domestic product reached $1.24 billion in 2024, up 5%, second in Southeast behind Juneau. The region's average wage rose 6% to $66,796, outpacing inflation. Southeast's population held nearly flat, losing 21 residents to reach 70,233, which the report calls a stabilization.

Ketchikan received 1,524,200 cruise passengers in 2025. The report projects 1,644,873 for 2026 and 1,667,866 for 2027. The visitor industry was Southeast's largest sector for the third year running, accounting for 19% of year-round-equivalent jobs. Regional air arrivals in the first half of 2026 ran 9% below the same period a year earlier. Regionwide, cruise passengers dipped about 8,000 to 1.78 million in 2025, only the second decline in a dozen years, with 1.97 million expected in 2026.

The report names housing as the region's greatest constraint. Ketchikan's average single-family home value was $450,801 from January through July 2026, below Juneau and Sitka. Southeast added 315 housing units in 2025, the most since 2016.

Government jobs across Southeast fell in every category except active-duty Coast Guard. Federal jobs outside the Coast Guard dropped 15% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Southeast Conference surveyed 360 business leaders in April 2026. Sixty-two percent rated the business climate positively and 67% had a positive outlook. One leader called it "cautiously optimistic if we address workforce, housing, transportation reliability, infrastructure, and cost pressures with practical regional solutions."